"Polish or Lithuanian?"
Top 5 Page for this destinationStatues and fountains Tip by matcrazy1

I found this monument when I went through the gate at Didzioji gatve # 22. I saw winding backstreet not marked on my (the most detailed 1:8,000) map of Vilnius with the monument on the right.It was the monument of the greatest Polish poet and national bard of 19th century - Adam Mickiewicz.

Polish or Lithuanian poet?He was born in Polish family in Novohrudak (Lithuania, Belarus now) and he wrote in Polish language. I always thought he was Polish although he wrote "Lithuania, my homecountry". Historicians says that many noble Poles living in Lithuania (which was united with Poland for over 400 years) in the past called themselves both citizens of Poland (larger homeland) and of Lithuania (smaller homeland).

Both Polish and Lithuanian :-)It's interesting that another great Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz, I met personally in Krakow, told me that he always had two homelands: first Poland and second Lithuania. He was born in Polish family close to Kedainiai, Lithuania. He was Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Berkeley. He was almost unknown in Poland since he won Nobel prize in 1980. Communist authorities of Poland were very confused about that.

Why I didn't learn history from books?Look, my parents have large Polish encyclopedia from 70' with NO mention about Milosz and one from early 80' where there is a notice: "in his works Milosz acted against Poland". In real he acted against communist authorities of Poland but never against Poles. Hmm... that's why I never learned real history from officially published books in so called Polish People's Republic (communist regime, fake in real allien of the Soviet Union).